Dollar Falls as Yellen Says Interest-Rate Outlook Not Locked In

The dollar fell from the day™s high after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said a change in the central bank™s guidance won™t lock it into a timetable for raising interest rates.

The U.S. currency rose earlier as Yellen told a Senate committee said the labor market is improving even as inflation and wage growth remain too low. The dollar has rallied this year as the U.S. economy outperformed it major peers, leading the Fed to consider reducing monetary stimulus while central banks around the world lower interest rates and buy bonds in an effort to bolster growth.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the currency versus its 10 major counterparts, declined 0.3 percent to 1,165.30 as of 3:22 p.m. in New York. It added as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The index touched 1,175.99 on Feb. 11, the highest level in data going back to 2004.

The U.S. currency traded little changed at 118.91 yen and $1.1336 per euro.